Reports to: Regional Preserve Manager – South Coast Region
Location: Santa Barbara County (preserve is south of Lompoc, CA)
Position: Permanent / Full-time; Exempt (Salaried)
Compensation: $64,480 – $74,480 ($69,745.78 - $79,745.78 including home office and phone stipends) with benefits, including but not limited to 11 paid holidays annually; three weeks of vacation annually (progressive); sick leave; substantial employer contribution to health insurance plan; dental and vision plans; employer contribution to retirement plan
Application deadline: The position is open until filled, active recruitment
Full description HERE
Position Summary and General Duties
The Preserve Manager – Santa Barbara County (Preserve Manager) will be responsible for managing a preserve in Santa Barbara County that has been permanently protected for conservation purposes. That preserve – Gaviota Tarplant Ranch Preserve – is a 2,731-acre preserve located south of Lompoc, CA that includes annual and perennial grassland, coastal oak woodland, coastal scrub, riparian, and wetlands. The species that commands the stewardship focus on this preserve is the State and Federally Endangered Gaviota tarplant. Other significant species that reside within the Preserve include Mesa horkelia, Kellogg’s horkelia, and California red-legged frog. CNLM will have perpetual management and monitoring responsibilities for this Preserve.
In this case, the Preserve is sufficiently large and demanding in its management that it is anticipated there will be two Preserve Managers. The Preserve Managers will work together but with some differentiated areas of emphasis—one focused on grazing and rangeland management and one focused on biological monitoring—as described below. The Preserve Managers will work with support of the South Coast Regional Preserve Manager for California in conducting all the management and monitoring activities needed to protect and conserve the Gaviota tarplant. In addition to managing the Preserve, the Preserve Managers may—as part of CNLM’s conservation team—work with other CNLM staff on some other preserves as reasonable for best efficiency.
Both positions will focus on the monitoring and management of Gaviota tarplant populations and habitat conditions and contribute to applied research and adaptive management in support of this species. The two areas of emphasis for the Preserve Manager positions are described below:
Biological monitoring, data management, and analysis
- The focus of this position is the monitoring design and collection of data for the Gaviota tarplant, and subsequent analysis and management of such data.
- Requires a strong understanding of statistical principles and experimental design for designing and implementing monitoring protocols, field trials, and data analysis.
Grazing and Rangeland Management
- The focus of this position is grazing and rangeland management to support Gaviota tarplant habitat.
- Manage grazing as a vegetation management tool to implement the goals of the management plan. Conduct effective communications and relationships with grazing operators and monitor grazing effects (e.g., RDM surveys). Determine and implement, as appropriate, other vegetation management tools such as pesticide application, mowing, or mechanical removal.
Both positions will be involved in overall management of the Preserve, and preparing budgets, plans, and reports.
The Preserve Managers will be involved with committees composed of regulatory personnel and other collaborators which will provide input towards management. Other activities will include revising management plans; preparing annual budgets, work plans, and reports; analyzing data as needed; and active engagement of contractors needed for specialized services. The Preserve Managers will provide resource management in accordance with the conservation values and regulatory requirements of the Preserve, CNLM’s stewardship standards and practices (which also reflect and exceed Land Trust Alliance standards), and the preserve-specific management plan. The position of Preserve Manager requires maintenance of a home office for which CNLM provides a stipend. A company vehicle may be provided at management’s discretion. There is a considerable degree of autonomy (and responsibility) associated with the position because of CNLM’s organizational structure which focuses on preserve management rather than high levels of administration and supervision. In addition to the management of the Preserve, the Preserve Managers will contribute to CNLM’s expertise and documentation of ‘best management practices’ for managing rare and protected plant and animal species. They will participate in internal and external stewardship and conservation science events and, as needed, participate in the acquisition of new preserves.